The first (and often only) thing to read is the claims. Claim 1 for example: 1. In a processor capable of executing program instructions in an execution order

The first (and often only) thing to read is the claims. Claim 1 for example: 1. In a processor capable of executing program instructions in an execution order differing from their program order, the processor further having a data speculation circuit for detecting data dependence between instructions and detecting a mis-speculation where a data consuming instruction dependent for its data on a data producing instruction of earlier program order, is in fact executed before the data producing instruction, a data speculation decision circuit comprising: a) a predictor receiving a mis-speculation indication from the data speculation circuit to produce a prediction associated with the particular data consuming instruction and based on the mis-speculation indication; and b) a prediction threshold detector preventing data speculation for instructions having a prediction within a predetermined range.